Attachment for automobile accessories



March 1954 H. c. RIEMANN ATTACHMENT; FOR AUTOMOBILE ACCESSORIES 5' FiledJan. 18

M m m m Patented Mar. 23, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE? 2,673,055ATTACHMENT FOR AUTOMOBILE ACCESSORIES HowardC. Riemann, WestAllis,-Wis.', assigiior to The Fulton Goinpan y, West poration ofWisconsin Application January 18, 1950, Serial No. 139,150

4 Claims. The present invention relates in general to improvements indevices for attaching accessories cally to improvements in theconstruction and operation mechanism for clamping diverse attachments tothe rain gutters of enclosed automobiles.

The primary object of my invention is to pro vide an improved attachmentfor automobile acdrilling of holes.

A further important object of the invention is to provide a simpleaccessory attaching clamp which may be constructed at moderate cost fromsheet metal with the aid of punches and dies, and which may beconveniently manipulated to either attach or release the accessory.

Still another object of my invention is to pro vide a durable mechanismfor clamping diverse not undesirably obstruct the gutters.

An additional object of my present invention is to provide an improvedaccessory mounting bracket adapted to be rigidly secured with the aid-ofseveral clamping wedges toeither' straight p the wedges 12 along the adcent surfaces Allis, Wis., a. cor

2 gutters or the like, and which may or irregular be shifted or adjustedalong the gutters at will.

These and other objects and advantages; of the invention will beapparent from the following detailed description.

clear conception of the improved features involved in my presentimprovement, and of the construction and operation of a typical gutte'rgutter eing shown in section;

Fig. 2 is a view of the to that of Fig. l, but showing the bracket ofthe attachment firmly clamped to the gutter,

and while the improvement has'be'en specifically applicable towindshield visor mountings, it is not my desire or a thin flat wedge 12coactihg with surfaces H and with the 5; and means for moving to flange9 into tremors-sen:

interior of the gutter same attachment, similar gagement with the bottomof the gutter 5, or to release the wedges 12.

The frame or bracket 8 together with its laterally projecting lower andupper flanges 9, may be formed of a single piece of relatively heavysheet metal with the aid of punches and dies, and the visor 1 or otheraccessory may be either rigidly or pivotally adjustably attached to twoof these brackets 8 cooperable with the gutters 5 on opposite sides ofthe body 6. The lower clamping flange 9 of the bracket 8 may be eithercontinuous as shown or medially interrupted, and is preferably curvedlongitudinally so as to permit its application to either curved orstraight portions of the gutters 5, and if so desired, a pad M of rubberor felt may be applied between this flange 9 and the adjacent gutter 5in order to avoid marring of the finish of the vehicle. The surfaces Hare preferably straight but slightly inclined longitudinally of anddownwardly toward the lower flange 9, and a bearing element i5 formed ofsheet metal or otherwise may be firmly attached to the inside of thebracket 8 between the surfaces H in any suitable manner.

The two wedges l2 of each clamp assembly may be of interchangeablysimilar construction and each of these wedges l2 may be formed of tworelatively thin sheet metal sections welded or otherwise securedtogether and having cooperating medial bulges forming tubular hubs 16.The outer inclined edges of the oppositely directed wedges l2 areslidably cooperable with the adjacent similarly inclined bracketsurfaces l I, while the opposite edges of these wedges i2 are likewisecooperable with the upper inner surface of the gutter 5 with which theclamp coacts. The two wedges may also be produced with the aid of simplepunches and dies, and are normally disposed parallel to the side wall ofthe bracket approximately equi-distant from the central bearing elementl5 secured to the inside of this bracket.

The means for moving the wedges l2 along the adjacent inclined surfacesll, consists primarily of a screw or bolt 18 having its medial portionjournalled for rotation in the bracket element l5 while one end thereofis provided with a manipulating head l9 coacting with the outer end ofone wedge hub l6 while its opposite end has screw threads formedthereon;

. the screw threads 20 of the bolt l8 and with the outer end of theother wedge hub l6; and a helical compression spring 22 interposedbetween the inner end of each wedge hub 16 and the medial element I5.This wedge moving mechanism is such that the elongated bolt 18 isrotatable with the aid of a screw driver within the journal element l5and wedge hubs l6, and when the bolt I8 is rotated in one direction bothwedges will obviously be drawn inwardly toward each other to compressthe springs 22, whereas rotation of the bolt I8 in the oppositedirection will cause the compressed springs 22 to move the wedges apart.

When the improved gutter clamping units have been properly constructedand secured to a windshield visor 1 or other accessory which is to beattached to the vehicle gutters 5, the wedges 12 should be initiallyseparated or retracted as illustrated in Fig. 1, whereupon the lowerflanges 9 of the two brackets 8 may be hooked beneath the adjacentgutters 5 and the wedges l2 may be loosely disposed within thesegutters. After each released clamp assembly has been slid along theadjacent gutter 5'to the desired position, the bolt 18 may be rotatedwith the aid of a screw driver a nut 2| coacting with applied to itshead l8, so as to simultaneously move the two wedges l2 toward eachother and to thereby firmly clamp the lower flange 9 of the bracketagainst the bottom of the gutter 5 as indicated in Fig. 2. The loweredges of the two wedges l2 will then firmly engage the upper surface ofthe gutter 5 while the springs 22 will be compressed; and if it becomesdesirable to release one or both of the clamping assemblages, it is onlynecessary to rotate the bolt l8 thereof in the opposite directionwhereupon the compressed springs 22 will become quickly effective tospread the wedges l2 apart.

From the foregoing detailed description of the construction andoperation of the improved accessory attachment, it should be apparentthat I have in fact provided a simple unit for effectively andconveniently clamping various kinds of accessories to the rain gutters 5of automobile tops 6 or the like, without marring the finish. Theimproved structures will eifectively cooperate with straight orlongitudinally curved portions of the gutters, and may be quicklyapplied or released with little effort. The relatively thin wedges l2also avoid undesirable obstruction of the interiors of the gutters 5with which they coact, and permit free adjustment of the clamping unitsalong these gutters, and the wedges 12 as well the bracket 8 may bereadily constructed at moderate cost from durable sheet metal with theaid of punches and dies. The improved clamps have proven highlysatisfactory and successful in actual use especially for attachingwindshield visors 'l to vehicle gutters 5, but may obviously be utilizedfor other purposes.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit this inventionto the exact details of construction and operation of the specific clampassemblages herein shown and described, for various modifications withinthe scope of the appended claims may occur to persons skilled in theart.

I claim:

1. In a gutter attachment, a bracket having lower and upper flangesprojecting therefrom in the same direction, the lower flange beinglongitudinally curved and formed for disposition beneath the gutter andthe upper flange having thereon oppositely inclined surfaces facing theupwardly open interior of the gutter, a wedge interposed between each ofsaid inclined surfaces and the gutter interior, a bolt journalled onsaid bracket and rotatable in one direction to draw both of said wedgestoward each other along the adjacent inclined surfaces to force saidlower flange into clamping engagement with the gutter, and springsinterposed between said wedges for separating the same when said bolt isreversely rotated.

2. In a gutter attachment, a sheet metal bracket having lower and upperintegral flanges projecting therefrom in the same direction, the lowerflange being formed for disposition beneath the gutter and the upperflange having thereon oppositely inclined surfaces facing the upwardlyopen interior of the gutter, a sheet metal wedge interposed between eachof said inclined surfaces and the gutter interior, a journal elementsecured to said bracket between said wedges, a bolt journalled in saidelement and being rotatable in one direction to draw both of said wedgesalong the adjacent inclined surfaces and toward each other to force saidlower flange into clamping engagement with the gutter near the oppositeends of said bracket, and a spring interposed between said element andeach of said wedges for spreading the latter apart when said bolt isrotated in the opposite direction.

3. In a gutter attachment, a bracket having the other flange havingthereon oppositely inclined surfaces facing the open interior of theinclined surf ge interposed between each of said aces and the gutterinterior on each of the opposite sides of said element, a. boltjournalled for rotation in said element and being HOWARD C. RIEMANN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number

